Chapter 15

Once Katniss wakes from a horrible nightmare, she realizes that she is in a damp hole filled with leaves. She wonders why Peeta saved her life, and celebrates the fact that she now has a bow and some arrows. She finds a stream and hunts for some food. She is setting the food to cook when she hears someone approach, which turns out to be Rue. Katniss asks to be her ally and invites her to eat some of the food she has caught. Rue helps her remove the venom from the tracker jacker stings with an herbal remedy and tells her about her life in District 11. Although it is the agricultural district, food is scarce there so Rue is excited to have so much to eat. Rue also lets Katniss know that the sunglasses that Katniss received in her pack were actually night vision glasses, which can come in handy.

As they are getting ready to sleep, Katniss tells Rue that Peeta saved her and Rue let her know that she has been spying on the Career camp. Peeta is no longer with them and Rue tells her about all the food and equipment the Careers have at their camp, including their own night vision glasses. This conversation leads Katniss to start making a plan to take down the Careers.

Notes:
Katniss and Rue strengthen their bond and form an alliance in this chapter which shows that Katniss is capable of having a soft side, despite all of the violence and mayhem around them. This chapter also allows the readers to learn about District 11 and we learn how little contact the districts have with each other, as Katniss knows nothing about the district that is closest to her home. Rue confirms Katniss’ suspicion that Peeta has been with the Career camp to protect her and that he is no longer with them, which allows Katniss to start to trust that Peeta is her ally.

During their conversation the two girls talk about what strengths they have due to being poor, such as knowing how to be hungry, and they use this to form a plan to strike back at the Careers. This is the first time that Katniss has made a direct move against others, instead of sitting back and just reacting to what has been going on. By deciding to take on the Careers, she is finding her own backbone and deciding to do something about the injustice in the Games.